We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
- Confirm you are the project lead.
- Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this funding opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
- Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
- Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
- Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
- Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- files must be smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our research office webinars about the new Funding Service.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. Applicants should use their discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Deadline
BBSRC must receive your application by 17 September at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.
Publication of outcomes
BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary of your network proposal.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
- opinion-formers
- policymakers
- the public
- the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
- researcher co-lead (RcL)
- specialist
- grant manager
- professional enabling staff
- research and innovation associate
- technician
Only list one individual as project lead.
Please see some additional guidance on the core team:
- the core team membership is limited to no more than six applicants. This includes the network director, up to four other project co-leads (one of whom is the network co-director and one of whom is an early career researcher) and the network manager
- the network director must be the project lead (PL) of the application
- a network manager is mandatory and should be identified via the grant manager role
Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.
Application questions
Vision
Word limit: 500
What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed network?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how your proposed network:
- has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field/area
- is timely given current trends, context and needs
- impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment
- will connect and expand the GIBA community with researchers from a broad range of disciplines
- enhance research capacity in the UK
- will embed EDI considerations into, and how these will guide your aims, as well as other activities such as stakeholder engagement, events and networking
Within the Vision section we also expect you to:
- describe the concept, context and coordination function of your network
- demonstrate the alignment of the network to this opportunity
- clearly explain how your proposed network will create the knowledge and skills to advance understanding of GIBA and inform novel strategies to improve physical, cognitive and mental health across the life course
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Please make sure to check sizing and readability of the image using ‘read view’ prior to submission.
Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
References may be included within this section.
Approach
Word limit: 2,500
How are you going to deliver your proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:
- is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
- is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
- if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
- will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
- will build EDI considerations into the formation, operation and governance of the network, including how these will be operationalised
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Please make sure to check sizing and readability of the image using ‘read view’ prior to submission. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
References may be included within this section.
Within the Approach section we also expect you to:
- provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan including milestones and timelines
- explain how you will undertake community and stakeholder engagement and wider participation, including providing an outline of a communication plan to be developed within the first six months of the award
- evidence co-creation and user engagement
- demonstrate how the network will identify and develop partnerships with relevant parties which contribute to the aims of the network
- outline how the flexible funding will be used and how it supports your objectives for the network (further details must be provided in the ‘Flexible funding’ section)
- detail how you plan to distribute and manage the funding for the two fellowships through robust, transparent competitive processes, including monitoring, reporting and governance
- outline future plans for sustaining the network beyond this application, or for funding research which may develop from the partnership
Activities focused on increasing engagement with individuals from minority groups should, wherever possible, be based on quantitative and qualitative evidence. For example, EDI data collected from the network community and the networks’ potential outreach as well as qualitative evidence such as the lived experience of the members of the network.
This evidence building can be built into the activities within the network; a strong evidence base prior to application is not mandatory. The networks will need to identify a clear strategy for addressing these challenges through the funding available and identify potential solutions and opportunities for engagement with these communities with the goal of tackling these challenges. If applicable, include information on how you will acquire and manage EDI data under the ‘Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)’ question.
Governance
Word limit: 500
How will you manage the award to successfully deliver its objectives?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how the proposed award will be managed, demonstrating that it:
- has an overall governance appropriate for the oversight and successful delivery of the network
- will be effectively and inclusively managed, with clear leadership team roles and responsibilities to ensure appropriate delivery and prioritisation of network activities aligned to the overall ambitions of the network
- how you will work together as a team to ensure that the different disciplines, ECRs and stakeholders can contribute in a meaningful and timely way
- has an external advisory group, which is independent from both the academic institutions and project partners involved in the proposal. Provide information on the proposed membership of this advisory group and how it will be used
- has plans for monitoring your progress as well as self-evaluation throughout the lifetime of your award
- will manage and encourage partnerships with non-HEI organisations across government, industry and civil society
- will put in place appropriate governance and administration to deliver the range of network activities, particularly the flexible fund and fellowships
Within this section you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You must:
- use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
- insert each new image onto a new line
- provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
- ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Applicant and team capability to deliver
Word limit: 1,650
Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:
- the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
- the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
- the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
- contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community
You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.
The word count for this section is 1,650 words, 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.
Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you, and if relevant your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.
Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed below. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:
- contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
- the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
- contributions to the wider research and innovation community
- contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions: Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).
You should complete this section as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.
UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.
For full details, see Eligibility as an individual.
Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Word limit: 500
What are the ethical and RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:
- the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
- how you will manage these considerations
If you are collecting or using data, you should identify:
- any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data)
- formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with
Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving:
- animals
- human participants
- genetically modified organisms
Resources and cost justification
Word limit: 1,000
What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Justify the application’s key resource costs, in particular:
- project staff
- flexible funding
- all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’, such as the network manager and other network activity costs
Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:
- are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
- represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
- maximise potential outcomes and impacts
Flexible Fund
Word limit: 1,000
How will you use and manage the flexible fund?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Explain how you will use and manage the flexible fund so that it:
- supports your objectives
- distributes funding appropriately across a diverse range of activities
- where appropriate, distributes funding through robust, transparent competitive processes
- builds capacity in key fields and career stages
- ensures appropriate processes for monitoring, reporting and governance of funded activities
Your organisation’s support
Word limit: 10
Provide details of support from your research organisation.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a Statement of Support from your research organisation detailing why the proposed work is needed. This should include details of any matched funding that will be provided to support the activity and any additional support that might add value to the work.
The committee will be looking for a strong statement of commitment from your research organisation.
BBSRC recognises that in some instances, this information may be provided by the Research Office, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or equivalent, or a combination of both.
You must also include the following details:
- a significant person’s name and their position, from the TTO or Research Office, or both
- office address or web link
Upload details are provided within the Funding Service on the actual application.
Project partners
Provide details about any project partners’ contributions.
Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.
A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct (cash) or indirect (in-kind) contributions such as expertise, staff time or use of facilities.
Add the following project partner details:
- the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
- the project partner contact name and email address
- the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value
If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Project partners: letters of support
Upload a single PDF containing the letters of support from each partner you named in the Project partners section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’. Each letter you provide should:
- confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
- clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
- describe any additional value that they bring to the project
- the page limit is two sides A4 per partner
The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.
Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the project partners’ section.
For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.
Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.
Do not provide a statement of support from collaborators.
Data management and sharing
Word limit: 500
How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed network activities?
What the assessors are looking for in your response
Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes
